4 years ago
239 
By Matthew Henry
BBC Sport at the Ageas Bowl
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| Third one-day international, Ageas Bowl, Southampton |
| England 328 (49.5 overs): Morgan 106, Banton 58, Willey 51 |
| Ireland 329-3 (49.5 overs): Stirling 143, Balbirnie 113 |
| Ireland won by seven wickets; England won series 2-1 |
| Scorecard |
Ireland stunned England in a thrilling third one-day international, completing a chase of 329 with one ball to spare at the Ageas Bowl.
Paul Stirling smashed 142 and captain Andrew Balbirnie 113, sharing a superb stand of 214 for the second wicket.
Stirling was run out with 65 needed and Balbirnie holed out 15 runs later but Ireland held their nerve.
The tourists needed eight from the final over and Kevin O'Brien and Harry Tector saw them to a seven-wicket win.
The pair put on an unbroken 50 and capitalised on England's ragged finish.
England dropped Stirling on 95 and 139, put down Tector on 19 and bowled several costly wides and no-balls late on.
Eoin Morgan's 84-ball 106 looked to have put them on course for victory.
Morgan and Tom Banton, who made 58, added 146 but both fell in quick succession in a collapse of 4-26 as England failed to take full advantage of being 190-3 in the 27th over.
Still, the world champions, albeit without many key players who are part of the Test squad, should have defended their total.
It was Ireland's highest successful chase in ODIs, beating their famous pursuit against England at the 2011 World Cup.
The hosts had clinched the series before this finale but Ireland's victory - only their second against England in ODIs - gave them 10 points in the qualification league for the 2023 World Cup.
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Bangalore repeated in Southampton
The Ireland top order were abject in the first two matches of this series before firing in stunning fashion.
Faced with little choice but to attack, opener Stirling cut loose and launched six sixes into the empty stands, targeting a short leg-side boundary.
Balbirnie, who like Stirling had struggled throughout the series, played a more steady hand, accumulating rather than opting for power strokes.
The mix-up that saw Tom Curran run out Stirling and a poor shot from Balbirnie - he hit Adil Rashid straight to long-on with the required rate comfortable - could have cost Ireland, but Tector and O'Brien held on.
It was O'Brien, the man who made an unbeaten 113 off 63 balls in Bangalore, who hit the winning run which resulted in Irish cheers ringing around the empty stadium.
More to follow
